How do I know what Homework is Assigned?

Students have been instructed on the many ways they can find homework assignments. Homework is meant to be simple, independent, review tasks to reinforce what we have learned and practiced at school. Please see below for details and links directly to homework info:

Off-Road Research Website Page: If for some reason you cannot access the homework calendar directly, it is linked to our "Off-Road Research" (Homework) website page. It will update automatically and is a great resource for homework assignments & info.

Click on each assignment on either the calendar and/or the Off-Road Research page for up-to-date homework information.

Students know to EMAIL ME if they have questions about or difficulty with homework, in the case that Homework Hotline (see below) is not live.

Typical Nightly Homework: Details may vary, but typically, homework consists of the following:

Learn about this NEW & excitinghome-school Communication TOol!

Click on the image above to see a video tutorial of our new homework hotline!

In an effort to maximize the impact of our 1:1 Chromebooks for home-school communication, student independence, and responsibility, Mrs. Petlak will now be offering HOMEWORK HOTLINE!

Watch the video to see how this tech tool similar to chat will allow students to quickly and effectively ask Mrs. Petlak homework and school related questions, receiving instant (or as close to it as possible) responses and not having to fire a thousand emails back and forth to each other!

Current HOMEWORK HOTLINE hours will be posted on our homework calendar & typically an email will also be sent.

Friday is the anniversary of 9/11/2001. This is obviously an important day in American history, but it is also a very sensitive subject. For your information and peace of mind, I wanted to share with you some of the material we will be exposed to in honor of this day and also provide you with kid-centered materials to help you talk to your child about the events of 9/11 should questions and/or discussion arise.

We happen to be studying New York City as we embark on our exploration of the Northeast Region of the USA (we study all 5 regions throughout the year). Tomorrow we'll be continuing to read books and poetry about New York City. We will also be watching the Brainpop video about 9/11 below. Feel free to watch the video for your own reference. Your student has his/her own login for Brainpop.

Scholastic News Resources

Resource for Talking to Your Child

Click the image below to view a document provided by the 9/11 Memorial Foundation for speaking with your child about this event.

We Love NYC!!

Beyond 9/11, we are currently studying New York City as part of our Northeastern region tour. We will be reading tons of NYC books, poetry, studying famous landmarks, tourist attractions, and even artwork! As a shared literacy experience, we are listening to In the Year of the Boar & Jackie Robinson, which takes place in NYC. Soon, we'll "visit" Broadway to study the science behind sound and light! Stay tuned for details and photos!

We are proud to be learning about landmarks & historic sites in NYC, as well as celebrating the resilience, strength, and spirit of New Yorkers! Last year we had a special guest speak about the rebuilding of One World Trade center and it was amazing! While Grandpa Chip won't be visiting again this year, he was kind enough to leave us resources, posters, and loads of information to share about the 9/11 memorial and new construction at Ground Zero in NYC.

As you and your child are reading and recording your reading at home nightly, please see the video tutorial I created above to help you add books to your shelf and log reading each night.

More tutorials on additional features of Biblionasium will follow in the future, but for now, focus on adding books currently being read to your shelf and logging reading nightly.Please watch this together with your child. Have fun, and let me know if you have any questions!

Click on the image below to be redirected to our homework page.assignment is due monday!

Greetings parents! Beginning in January, our classroom will be a part of the first phase of the NSSD112 1:World Adoption. Students in 1:World Classrooms will be issued Chromebooks for school and home use.

To learn more about the 1:World initiative as well as how you can partner with us to promote exciting new learning for our students, please mark your calendars for Thursday, January 16th at 3:45pm in the Indian Trail Cafeteria.We will discuss learner and family expectations, insurance details ($20), and initiative logistics. Students will be afforded the privilege of using Chromebooks at school and at home after parents have participated in this orientation session and there has been student training at school.

If you cannot make this session, we will be sending home a packet with all of the information and directions if you decide to pay for the insurance to use the Chromebook at home. Thank you to the Indian Trail PTO for funding this amazing program.

Still have a zillion Questions aboutlearnzillion?

or

Having tech troubles?

earn dojo points for your child

Leave a quick comment below that you WATCHED the video, and your child will receive PARENT PARTICIPATION DOJO POINTS!

Learnzillion parent tutorial

Students returned to school today both extremely excited about their first Flipped Learning experience last night, and also full of questions. This is natural with trying anything new...especially if it involves using technology. I am proud of the work, meaningful math discussions at school today as a result of watching the videos for homework, and the number of students who made UNSOLICITED comments (to their PEERS) about how much they learned from the short rounding (4.NBT.3) videos! Please watch the brief, 5 minute tutorial I've created to walk you through the process of navigating your child's LearnZillion home page. In this video, I show the features of the student video playlist, including lesson and practice videos, as well as the NEW independent practice feature.

Tell me more about words their way!

Still have WTWQuestions?

Earn DOJO Points for your Child

Leave a quick comment below that you WATCHED the video, and your child will receive PARENT PARTICIPATION DOJO POINTS!

What is words their way?

Words Their Way (WTW) is a developmental spelling, phonics, and vocabulary program. It was developed by Invernizzi, Johnston, Bear, and Templeton. WTW is an approach to spelling and word knowledge that is based on extensive research literature and includes stages of development and instructional levels that are critical to the way students learn to read. A word study program allows teachers to provide differentiated efficient, effective instruction in phonics, spelling, and vocabulary. Learn more about the components of WTW, how it works, and what to expect by watching the video below.

How does this impact nightly home practice?

1) Know that your child MIGHT NOT have a new list every single week. If he/she demonstrates they still need more time with a specific patterned list, they will continue to work on it.

2) Have your child do a quick sort (A few different types are listed in the parent brochure, available for download to the left of this post.) before completing a practice choice.

3) You may notice that I LOWER the required choice menu practice points. This is because if students are sorting once before practicing, I feel that makes up for any additional required points on the spelling choice contract menu. (i.e. assigning 15-20 required practice points each week instead of 20-25)